Beatles tribute show ‘Let It Be’ opens on Broadway, despite lawsuit from another tribute show

Let It Be, a popular Beatles tribute show from London, has come to the U.S., opening on Broadway Wednesday night. The show went on without a problem, but the producers are currently the target of another lawsuit from the creators of Rain, another Beatles tribute show.

The show’s Broadway run was announced in May and is being performed at the St. James Theatre. Previews started on July 16 and on that same day, the producers of Rain filed their copyright suit.

According to The Independent, The Rain Corporation claims that Let It Be’s tribute to the Fab Four is far too similar to its own tribute and it didn’t get any credit for the Broadway production. The Rain producers say Let It Be’s 31 songs feature 28 of the same songs in Rain and “the artwork used as background during the performance of many of those songs are similar or identical.”

Peter Cane, the lawyer for Let It Be producers Jeff Parry and Annerin Productions told The New York Times on July 16 that the suit was silly. “Let It Be is a tribute to The Beatles, not to the four guys who impersonate The Beatles,” he said.

Rain’s producers did note that they did create a 50-50 partnership with the Let It Be producers before the show opening in London, since Rain didn’t play in the Beatles’ homeland. Instead, the Rain Corporation decided to let Let It Be continue as a London spin-off.

The Rain Corporation wants 50 percent of Let It Be’s Broadway run and a cut from future revenue.

Meanwhile, Let It Be is getting decent reviews, with EW giving it a B-.